Ergomed: An assisted walking system for rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord

We have designed, constructed and tested an automated equipment capable of supporting partly or wholly patients during their rehabilitation sessions. The system consists of a mechanical structure that supports a motor that drives a winch, joined by a harness in which a patient is located. The motor is controlled electronically and allows the following features: weigh the patient at the beginning of the session, set the percentage of the weight that the equipment should compensate and set the vertical scroll range allowed to the patients during the rehabilitation exercises. The equipment has two main objectives: firstly, to provide physiotherapists the handling of patients during their transfer from the wheelchair to the exercise area, and secondly, to establish the characteristics of the exercise to be performed as well as the percentage of lift perceived by the patient and the control of both the vertical oscillations and vertical positioning. The equipment is used along with a treadmill and constitutes a fully controlled assisted exercise system. The system has been used in the Rehabilitation Service of the Spinal Cord Injury Unit of the “Hospital La Fe” in Valencia (Spain) during the sessions of parallel bars in spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Feedback from both physiotherapists and patients has been very positive. On one hand, the therapists have been handling the patients in a more comfortable and secure manner, due to the use of the electromechanical assistance during transfer operations. On the other hand, they have had more time to attend to other patients while performing exercises. Patients have felt safer during handling and they have conducted the exercises with more comfort and freedom. Precise control of the lift force perceived by them has facilitated their movement. Measurements of the lift force by the system have provided quantitative results concerning the evolution of their treatment.